Thursday, January 08, 2009

In the past week there have been three separate occasions when someone was trying to be a courteous driver and nearly caused and accident. Each time the other driver had the right-of-way but they waved me on.

I hate that.

The first time I was turning left out of a parking lot onto a [very busy] 4 lane highway with a median for turners. She was making a left turn from the highway into my same parking lot but waited for me to go first. I honked at her to go ahead when there was an obvious clearing, but she just sat there and waved at me. Like she's doing me a favor.

Argh!

The other two times were similar: a 4-way stop when two of us get there at the same time and he was clearly on my right. A parking lot mishap: when she had the right of way and waved me out.

Let me be clear when I say I hate rude drivers that pull out in front of you or cut you off in any way. Or idiots that tailgate. But if being courteous means breaking the law ('cause that's what you're doing people!) than I don't want your manners.

BTW, Texas drivers suck. They won't pull out into the intersection while trying to turn left when the light is a yielding green. They won't pull over onto the shoulder when they're about to turn right. I don't blame them. They're simply products of a broken system. They don't have driver's ed offered in public school here. If Mom and Dad approve of them getting their license, then it's a-okay.

8 comments:

As you may know people in Texas don't generally pull out into the intersection on a yielding green. As you may not know, it is because in Texas if you aren't out of the intersection by the time the light turns red you can, as my brother can attest, get a big fat ticket for running the red. In some cities cops just sit and wait for people to do it.

Also it is true that driver's ed isn't in school, but that does make way for a more rigorous educational experience than compared to, say, Utah. Where you can graduate with a 3rd grade educational experience. It was good enough for Jospeh Smith, right? Anyway, in Texas you DO have to take a driver's education course. True, it can be taught by parents, but there are a lot of regulations on what they have to teach and document and pay the state in order to teach their own child to drive. Most people just enroll their 15-17 year old in a private driver's ed class.

WOW, Texas drivers don't pull out into the intersection while trying to turn left when the light is a yielding green or they won't pull over onto the shoulder when they're about to turn right. Gosh, I mean the only reason why these sucky Texas drivers would do that is BECAUSE IT IS THE FREAKING LAW!

You are not supposed to drive on the shoulder (even if you are "fixin" to turn right). You are not supposed to pull out into the middle of the intersection when turning left on a yielding green. What would happen if the light turned yellow and then red but you never had an opportunity to turn because so many cars were coming?Oh yea, that's right, it is the Utah Valley rule where because you committed to the intersection while green, everyone has to wait until you have an opportunity to go left despite the fact that your light is red or despite the fact cross traffic lights are now green. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Regarding "courteous drivers" you have a point but it is kind of curious to me that two blog posts ago you were complaining about drivers not stopping (or being courteous) and here you are complaining about Texas drivers who are trying to be courteous.

Lets put yourself in the other person's shoes. The person you are upset at is sitting in the turning lane attempting to turn into your parking lot. She sees a cute, 'young', blond mother with 17 kids cramped in the back of a 3-seater Honda who has been trying to turn out on this busy 4 lane road forever. The lady knows there is a lot of traffic but realizes you are waiting on four lanes and she is only waiting on two. She sees you craning your neck, left-right, left-right, left-right, left-right, left-right, so she patiently waits and gives you a little waive of the hand saying, hey there little cute mother with 17 kids, come on out, there is a chance, I will help you.

Stupid sucky Texas drivers. WHATEVER!

Oh, and you need to redact your "Social Experiment" post or publish another about what really happened because that one is TOTALLY confusing. If you don't then I am going to post a link to my blog on your blog and you better publish it and I am going to talk about lady drivers, the purpose of a gas gauge, the purpose of a gas warning light, the purpose of huge signs in west Texas that say "Hey, you, little car heading down that long straight road for miles and miles. The next service station is 60 miles away." "No, not only does that mean there is not a bathroom for 60 miles, it also means THERE IS NO GAS FOR 60 MILES."speaking of sucky Texas drivers . . .

Texas drivers are a bit crazy! I agree with you completley! I used to hate it in Houston when I would be driving along minding my business and the car in the lane to my left would stop so that someone could make a left hand turn in front of them - which meant in front of me too, when the traffic in my lane was still moving, and the people turning acted like that was a normal thing to do. I feel your pain!

I wouldn't say I'm "from" Texas even though I went to HS here, but they offered drivers ed at my HS, and people here always pull off on the shoulder when about to turn right, so maybe it's just unique to where you are? Or what about when you're driving down some Texas country road. The country folk often pull off to the shoulder, as if it's a passing lane.

In Corpus Christi there are Yield signs at every off ramp on the access roads so the people on the access road have to yield to the people exiting from the freeway. However, they take it to the extreme there and basically stop. it's really obnoxious.

People in Houston seem to forget that if you approach a car backing out of a parking space and they're more than 1/2 way out, THEY do not have the right of way-- to punch their gas and try to pass behind you.

okay....I am not going to get started...I just want to add to the Utah County thing that John mentioned...(because I live here and see it daily) it is not just

"committed to the intersection while green, everyone has to wait until you have an opportunity to go left despite the fact that your light is red or despite the fact cross traffic lights are now green."

is is, you see the light was green as you aproached it in the left turn lane behind 15 other people turning left and the light is now red but because you SAW it green as you approached you have the right-away to turn left even after the 15 people infront of you have turned left on the red light.

...thank you...I have much more on this subject...elementary pick-up/drop-off area...oooh don't get me started....